A team of ETH researchers led by Karsten Weis has developed a method that allows them to study the assembly process for large protein complexes in detail for the first time. As their case study, the biologists chose one of the largest cellular complexes: the nuclear pore complex in yeast cells. Cells produce a great...
Year: <span>2020</span>
Scientists develop new gene therapy for deafness
by Tel Aviv University Microscopy image of the mouse cochlea: Hair cells are stained in red and cells transduced by the virus are stained in green. Credit: Shahar Taiber, Tel Aviv University A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) presents an innovative treatment for deafness, based on the delivery of genetic material into the cells...
Research team reports new class of antibiotics active against a wide range of bacteria
by The Wistar Institute Bacteria image. Credit: The Wistar Institute Wistar Institute scientists have discovered a new class of compounds that uniquely combine direct antibiotic killing of pan drug-resistant bacterial pathogens with a simultaneous rapid immune response for combatting antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These finding were published today in Nature. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared AMR...
Global trial reveals life saving drug for acute myeloid leukemia
by Monash University Bone marrow aspirate showing acute myeloid leukemia. Several blasts have Auer rods. Credit: Wikipedia A landmark paper published today in the New England Journal of Medicine describes the results from a global trial across 148 sites in 23 countries, showing a 30 percent improvement in survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The Phase...
Scientists identify new gene involved in autism spectrum disorder
UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER IMAGE: BRUCE BEUTLER, M.D. CREDIT: PHOTO TAKEN BY BRIAN COATS FOR UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER DALLAS – Dec. 22, 2020 – UT Southwestern scientists have adapted a classic research technique called forward genetics to identify new genes involved in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In a study published this week in eLife, the researchers used...
Immersive virtual reality boosts the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain
WOLTERS KLUWER HEALTH December 23, 2020 – For patients receiving spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for chronic pain, integration with an immersive virtual reality (VR) system – allowing patients to see as well as feel the effects of electrical stimulation on a virtual image of their own body – can enhance the pain-relieving effectiveness of SCS, reports a...
UVA Tests ‘Radically Different’ Approach to Managing Type 2 Diabetes
A researcher at the University of Virginia School of Medicine is testing what he calls a “radically different” approach to managing type 2 diabetes for those who can’t or don’t want to lose weight. Daniel Cox, professor of psychiatry and internal medicine, said his program “flies in the face of conventionality” in that it doesn’t...
With COVID exacerbating superbug threat, researchers ID new weapon
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER IMAGE: CORRIE DETWEILER IN THE LAB AT CU BOULDER CREDIT: CU BOULDER As scientists around the globe wage war against a novel, deadly virus, one University of Colorado Boulder lab is working on new weapons to battle a different microbial threat: a rising tide of antibiotic-resistant bacteria which, if left...
New drug inhibits the growth of cancer cells
MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT IMAGE: CARTOON REPRESENTATION OF THE POLRMT-INHIBITOR COMPLEX. CREDIT: HAUKE S. HILLEN A newly developed compound starves cancer cells by attacking their “power plants” – the so-called mitochondria. The new compound prevents the genetic information within mitochondria from being read. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, the Karolinska Institute...
Promising clinical data for fenofibrate’s ability to prevent lung damage in COVID-19 patients
by Hebrew University of Jerusalem HUJI Prof. Yaakov Nahmias. Credit: David Hanoch In what has the potential to significantly change how Corona patients are being treated and the severity of the disease, research spearheaded at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University gathered early clinical evidence demonstrating the efficacy of an existing drug in treating COVID-19. The study was presented...